By Meghan Greene
For a full year and some weeks, The United States has been worried about COVID-19 and the constantly increasing positive cases in the country. Most people have been quarantining and socially distancing successfully for the whole year, and this was true for me as a Western New England University senior, until recently.
I prided myself on being COVID-19 free, and never testing positive for a whole year during a rapidly spreading pandemic that is affecting millions. I had to put my life and education on a pause at the start of the lockdown, and that couldn’t be for nothing. But unfortunately, on April 6, I tested positive for COVID-19. I am going to be recalling my experience after testing positive, and how fortunate I am compared to others.
On April 6, I had to take a mandatory weekly screening test for the University, since I live on campus and attend in-person classes. On April 7, I woke up to a missed call and a voicemail from the University’s Health Center, and I knew what it was concerning, and my heart dropped. I called the Health Center back, and I was in tears, and the nurse on the phone was very considerate of my state. She told me I would have to go into isolation, and gave me my options. In my case, I was very fortunate that both of my parents are fully vaccinated, and happily let me isolate at home, instead of the on-campus housing the University provides for students in isolation.
I was most upset and distressed about my positive test, because of the people and friends I had possibly exposed in the time I was unaware I had contracted COVID-19. I never wanted to put anyone in danger, or expose them to something that could harm them in any way. Another fortunate thing, though, is that one of my two roommates are fully vaccinated.
I sent out messages to all my friends that I had possibly been in contact with and told them. They were all very understanding that I couldn’t have possibly known that I had been exposed and contracted the virus. I quickly packed up my essentials and left the University campus, heading home to start my isolation.
I did not know I had any COVID-19 symptoms because it is springtime in New England, and I suffer from allergies. I am very fortunate that my only symptoms that I experienced from COVID-19 were similar to allergies or a small cold. I only had a stuffy nose, and a very small cough sometimes. I never lost my sense of taste or smell, and I wasn’t bed ridden for a couple days, which others can’t say the same at all.
From the start of the virus and the country’s shut down, I was never worried about contracting the virus, and possibly becoming very ill, or unfortunately dying unlike the 500,000 (and counting) lives that we have lost in the US. This is because I do not have underlying conditions that would make the virus worse to live through, and I am a healthy 21 year old. I was always worried about spreading COVID-19 to others who sadly can’t say the same.
I received a call not too long after getting home from the Massachusetts COVID Team, and they are in charge of COVID-19 tracking and statistics for the Commonwealth. They also served as my CDC liaison, and helped me to track when my symptoms could have started since it was difficult with the allergies I could have had. I was cleared by them to be out of isolation a couple of days before I could return to the University’s campus, because they determine a COVID-19 case and isolation to start the day the person experiences symptoms, but the University considers isolation to begin the day the student tested positive.
My professors and boss were very understanding of my predicament, which I was very thankful for. I couldn’t work for two weeks, even from home, which was disappointing. Also, after the two weeks of isolation, none of my friends or the people I possibly had contact with tested positive for COVID-19 or experienced any symptoms of the virus, which I am very grateful for.
Overall, my experience contracting COVID-19 was an inconvenience more than anything else, just like a cold can be for most people. I am immensely aware that for many people in the US and around the world, that is not the case, and I feel a lot of guilt for that. I am also disappointed that I tested positive now that my age group is able to be vaccinated in Massachusetts, and I will continue to have to wait a little while longer to do so.
